so this was a pleasant surprise, the economy added 146,000 jobs last month. not great by it's a -- but it's a lot better than expected. it dropped to the lowest level in four years. mostly because of the people who stopped looking for work. >>> well, there are other indicators that the economic outlook is improving. for years companies have been cutting back on holiday parties. this year, local restaurants and party venues say the parties are back. cbs 5 reporter don knapp is in san francisco where more employees are celebrating the season. don? >> reporter: ann, i don't know how reliable this is as an indicator of the economy but they're counting office parties can they're really up. when the economy goes bad first things to go are the perks, but right now it looks like the parties are back. they're back. holiday office parties. this isn't one right now but pier 23 is all pumped up about parry reservations. >> it's getting off to a good start. we have quite a few parties booked. had a few yesterday. >> reporter: chased away so many office parties over the pa